You may earn a maximum of 3 points toward your final grade by doing the above and answering the questions and submitting them ontime (no later than Sunday, January 18 at or before 12:01am). Any worksheets submitted after the deadline will get a 0. You will be rewarded a maximum of 3 points if I judge your work to be above average. You will receive 2 points if your work is average, that is it may have a few minor mistakes in some of the answers but demonstrates correct grammer and indicates that some, but not all, of the answers, are acceptable and well expressed. You will earn only 1 point if you simply answered the questions and/or if you use poor grammar and if there are signs that you have not read the material on which your answers are based.
1. Describe the stasis in the play: where, when, who, what, etc. in a paragraph.
The stasis is that play takes place with Brenda talking about her youth growing up in L.A. and how this has influenced her. The year is 1966, and Brenda Wong Aoki is 13. She grows up in a very racially diverse area, and she herself is of mixed races. There are other characters such as Kali, her Aunt Mary who has the grand rose garden, and her family. Brenda works at her dad's pharmacy, and as the play progresses, we see her feel included in her diverse community and then turn into an outsider when she is placed in an advanced class in her school.
2. What is the intrusion?
The intrusion is when Brenda is moved to High School in a gifted advanced class. Now she is immediately separated from her community that she used to feel included in, and her boyfriend Kali who isn’t in the advanced class. After this, we see a divide between Brenda and her old friends, when she comes in contact with wealthier friends like Sherry and Steve. This massive life change causes a division between her "Westside" friends and her new richer friends.
3. What is the unique factor?
The unique factor is that this the day that the narrator decides to tell her story to the people. She brings the audience into her world, so we can see how this intrusion and everything after shapes her life and situation. She wants to tell the story from her point of view many years later but set in the eyes of herself when she was young.
4. What is the dramatic question that should be answered by the end of the play?
Will Brenda find peace in her current life instead of dwelling in the past? Will Brenda pick between the Westside and her other friends, and how will this affect her identity?
5. Provide an illustration of the two kinds of exposition that the play has in it.
Only Brenda knows: Brenda is the one telling the story and is the only one who can say her experiences with 100% confidence. After moving away, she She understands the effect this past has had on her, especially because no one knew what was going on. I believe this is an important thing to consider due to the fact that it exemplifies the loneliness and burst of emotions she has felt this entire time since the events happened. When contrasted with telling the audience, it really shows that she missed a lot in between the time of everything happening until when she tells it.
Other people know: Brenda didn't know that Kali sold out smoke to the Drug Enforcement Agency. She learns this from Sherry when she didn't know this before. This information was not known by the narrator. From there, Brenda must inform the audience of what occurred. This is important, because Brenda is the mouth piece to the audience and what she says is the life of the story.
6. Identify the most theatrical moment in the play and of what importance it seems to be.
The shootout at the end of the play is the most theatrical moment in the entire play. The gunshots catch everyone off guard and grabs our attention completely. We are immediately drawn in and the shootout scene establishes and sets the mood. We are alert for the rest of the play and the shooting itself is a result of everything built up from each character and his/her emotions. This scene is the culmination of when Kali is dead, so Brenda finally doesn’t have a reason to really stay in the Westside and can be with her new friends now.
7. List some of the themes of the play.
Some themes in this play include ethnicity, relationships, identity, and culture.
8. What does the narrator want and what are some obstacles that stand in the way of her getting what she wants?
Brenda wants a sense of identity and friends that she can be herself as a minority of multiple ethnicities. She is torn between staying with her Westside friends and having new ones who will then separate her from Kali. She has to confront herself on whether she will abandon the friendships in order to become her own person. Brenda really wants to fit in both the Westside and the wealthy kids, but those two groups refuse to mix in with each other, and instead they keep focusing on how they are different, so she has to pick either one. She wants her own path in life and then ends up in San Francisco, where maybe she can get a fresh start.
9. Describe some possible images in the play and how does the title help us understand the play.
The garden is the most important image because it represents the beauty in her life (the roses surrounded by other things). This garden, which is also the title of the play, helps Brenda seek solace to ponder on herself and her identity from the past especially. Another image is the ocean, which is vast and unknown, and it shows that she has a lot to seek in life which isn’t known to her now but she doesn’t need to be afraid to seek her own wants and identity.
10. Briefly define the family relationships that are examined in the play.
The play examines family relationships from young and old. Brenda has a good relationship with her family as a youth, but she is restricted in her actions with her family as an adult. As a child, she depends on her family. Yet this completely switches when she is old enough to think for herself. Familial bonds are always evolving, and the choices we make now determines how we view family in the future. Brenda now does not have the best relationship, and this is due to the events of her past and childhood.
You will be rewarded a maximum of 3 points if I judge your work to be above average. You will receive 2 points if your work is average, that is it may have a few minor mistakes in some of the answers but demonstrates correct grammer and indicates that some, but not all, of the answers, are acceptable and well expressed. You will earn only 1 point if you simply answered the questions and/or if you use poor grammar and if there are signs that you have not read the material on which your answers are based.
1. Describe the stasis in the play: where, when, who, what, etc. in a paragraph.
The stasis is that play takes place with Brenda talking about her youth growing up in L.A. and how this has influenced her. The year is 1966, and Brenda Wong Aoki is 13. She grows up in a very racially diverse area, and she herself is of mixed races. There are other characters such as Kali, her Aunt Mary who has the grand rose garden, and her family. Brenda works at her dad's pharmacy, and as the play progresses, we see her feel included in her diverse community and then turn into an outsider when she is placed in an advanced class in her school.
2. What is the intrusion?
The intrusion is when Brenda is moved to High School in a gifted advanced class. Now she is immediately separated from her community that she used to feel included in, and her boyfriend Kali who isn’t in the advanced class. After this, we see a divide between Brenda and her old friends, when she comes in contact with wealthier friends like Sherry and Steve. This massive life change causes a division between her "Westside" friends and her new richer friends.
3. What is the unique factor?
The unique factor is that this the day that the narrator decides to tell her story to the people. She brings the audience into her world, so we can see how this intrusion and everything after shapes her life and situation. She wants to tell the story from her point of view many years later but set in the eyes of herself when she was young.
4. What is the dramatic question that should be answered by the end of the play?
Will Brenda find peace in her current life instead of dwelling in the past?
Will Brenda pick between the Westside and her other friends, and how will this affect her identity?
5. Provide an illustration of the two kinds of exposition that the play has in it.
Only Brenda knows: Brenda is the one telling the story and is the only one who can say her experiences with 100% confidence. After moving away, she She understands the effect this past has had on her, especially because no one knew what was going on. I believe this is an important thing to consider due to the fact that it exemplifies the loneliness and burst of emotions she has felt this entire time since the events happened. When contrasted with telling the audience, it really shows that she missed a lot in between the time of everything happening until when she tells it.
Other people know: Brenda didn't know that Kali sold out smoke to the Drug Enforcement Agency. She learns this from Sherry when she didn't know this before. This information was not known by the narrator. From there, Brenda must inform the audience of what occurred. This is important, because Brenda is the mouth piece to the audience and what she says is the life of the story.
6. Identify the most theatrical moment in the play and of what importance it seems to be.
The shootout at the end of the play is the most theatrical moment in the entire play. The gunshots catch everyone off guard and grabs our attention completely. We are immediately drawn in and the shootout scene establishes and sets the mood. We are alert for the rest of the play and the shooting itself is a result of everything built up from each character and his/her emotions. This scene is the culmination of when Kali is dead, so Brenda finally doesn’t have a reason to really stay in the Westside and can be with her new friends now.
7. List some of the themes of the play.
Some themes in this play include ethnicity, relationships, identity, and culture.
8. What does the narrator want and what are some obstacles that stand in the way of her getting what she wants?
Brenda wants a sense of identity and friends that she can be herself as a minority of multiple ethnicities. She is torn between staying with her Westside friends and having new ones who will then separate her from Kali. She has to confront herself on whether she will abandon the friendships in order to become her own person. Brenda really wants to fit in both the Westside and the wealthy kids, but those two groups refuse to mix in with each other, and instead they keep focusing on how they are different, so she has to pick either one. She wants her own path in life and then ends up in San Francisco, where maybe she can get a fresh start.
9. Describe some possible images in the play and how does the title help us understand the play.
The garden is the most important image because it represents the beauty in her life (the roses surrounded by other things). This garden, which is also the title of the play, helps Brenda seek solace to ponder on herself and her identity from the past especially. Another image is the ocean, which is vast and unknown, and it shows that she has a lot to seek in life which isn’t known to her now but she doesn’t need to be afraid to seek her own wants and identity.
10. Briefly define the family relationships that are examined in the play.
The play examines family relationships from young and old. Brenda has a good relationship with her family as a youth, but she is restricted in her actions with her family as an adult. As a child, she depends on her family. Yet this completely switches when she is old enough to think for herself. Familial bonds are always evolving, and the choices we make now determines how we view family in the future. Brenda now does not have the best relationship, and this is due to the events of her past and childhood.